Businesses Given Time To Comply With Code

February 12, 1999|By BETH FEINSTEIN-BARTL Special to the Sun-Sentinel

PLANTATION — A temporary reprieve has been granted to businesses operating exposed car lifts along State Road 7 while City Council members decide to what to do about an existing ordinance that prohibits outdoor repairs.

Mayor Frank Veltri proposed giving the owners a break after several came to him about receiving code violation notices.

"I think we can work with these people," Veltri said. "We don't want to drive them out. It's better they stay and clean up."

About eight businesses were found to have illegal lifts. The city's law, which dates back to 1964, requires the mechanisms be inside a building.

City Attorney Don Lunny has been asked to draw up an amendment to the ordinance, giving owners a time limit on when they must enclose the equipment.

"A lot of these places have been there for years and years," said City Council member Bruce Edwards. "I want to see them stay, but I want to make sure the city is also protected. We need to set some standards."

Ray Hernandez, manager of the Citgo Gas Station at 951 N. State Road 7, said he was happy the city is giving legitimate businesses along the corridor a chance to survive.

"Running us out won't help the area," he said.

The service station's owners were supposed to attend a code enforcement hearing Feb. 8 after being cited for their outdoor lift, Hernandez said.

"We could have faced fines if we didn't comply," he said. "Enclosing the lifts if going to be costly, but it can be done. All we need is some time."

Not all of the council members were in favor of giving amnesty to the businesses. City Council member Lee Hillier proposed handing out citations if the lifts were not removed within 30 days.

"We already have an ordinance in place," Hillier said. "The city fell asleep at the wheel enforcing it."

Although several businesses have been operating on State Road 7 before the ordinance took affect, Hillier contends it can't be proven whether the lifts were there and should be grandfathered in.

Hillier also said it was unfair to temporarily suspend the law for a few businesses in one part of the city.

Kathy Batt, a Plantation resident, agreed. "When you make an ordinance it should be equal on both sides of the city," she said. "They shouldn't be more lenient for State Road 7."

Edwards, whose family-run pest control company has been operating on State Road 7 since 1959, admitted a similar situation probably wouldn't be permitted elsewhere in the city.

"But State Road 7 is different," he said. "These businesses have been there for a long time. It would be one more hardship on the area. What are we going to do? Chase out people who are trying to make a living?"